260: Who does the library belong to?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Release Date: 03/06/2023
Can we communicate with our pets? Leo Trottier on the Future of Interspecies Communication
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
What if our pets are communicating complex ideas—and technology is finally catching up? In this episode of the Shifting Schools Podcast, cognitive scientist and FluentPet founder Leo Trottier joins us to explore how breakthroughs in animal cognition, inter-species communication, and speech-button interfaces are reshaping the way humans understand pets. Trottier unpacks the science behind communication-enhancing tools for animals, drawing from research in cognitive psychology, comparative cognition, and linguistics to explain how dogs and cats may be expressing needs, feelings, and even...
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Crossing the Line of Falling Behind: Where Is Your School on the AI Curve?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Summary In this episode, Jeff Utecht discusses the critical importance of understanding where schools stand on the AI adoption curve. He emphasizes the need for leadership to actively engage with AI and for educators to integrate AI into their teaching practices. The conversation highlights the transformative potential of AI in education, urging schools to move from mere conversation to meaningful integration. Learn more about our amazing show sponsor: Takeaways AI adoption is crucial for schools today. Leadership must model AI usage and curiosity. Schools are on a curve of AI...
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How Generative AI Can Deepen Critical Thinking in K12, Not Replace It
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Discover how educators are using generative AI not to automate, but to elevate critical thinking and collaboration in K-12 schools. In this episode of Shifting Schools, host Tricia Friedman shows how “disagreement by design” and intentional prompt-engineering transform student and leadership learning. What you’ll learn: What disagreement by design looks like in real classrooms and leadership teams How prompt engineering unlocks student curiosity and systems-thinking mindset in K-12 Why writing bespoke GPT bots might just be the 'new essay' of our times Who this episode is for:...
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Parenting, Picture Books, and the Practice of Wonder: Leadership Lessons in Creativity
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
A conversation that reminds us how curiosity, art, and iteration can reshape are necessary and may even be assets for our school leadership and the ways we nurture creative courage in young learners.... In this episode, Tricia Friedman sits down with author-illustrator Christy Mandin to explore what school leaders can learn from the creative process behind children’s literature. Together they unpack how curiosity fuels empathy, how messy iteration sparks innovation, and how embracing the dark and uncertain moments of creativity can make us more compassionate educators. What You’ll Learn ...
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Beyond Cheating: What AI Is Really Teaching Us About Students and Schools
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
The conversation about AI in education often starts—and stops—with cheating. But what if that’s the least interesting part of the story? In this episode, Tricia Friedman speaks with the team behind the new show: The Homework Machine, MIT’s Justin Reich and journalist Jesse Dukes. They unpack how generative AI is reshaping what we mean by integrity, creativity, and student voice. Together they explore how teachers can balance innovation with empathy, and what schools might learn from students already living in the AI age. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to The Homework Machine 02:47 The...
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Why vibe coding is such a vibe
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this episode talks listeners through an example of how she vibe coding an app from start to finish. Her vibe coding process of building an app blends AI literacy, digital humanities, and leadership design thinking. What does this tell us about the future of using generative AI for projects in K12? This episode is sponsored by our amazing friends at Join over 1 million educators using Poll Everywhere. Try it risk free for 30 days—we'll refund you if it's not a good fit. Listeners will gain insight into: how AI-assisted app design reshapes collaboration and imagination in schools what...
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The Future of Higher Education in America
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
Today, a college diploma is no guarantee that graduates have the competencies that businesses need, including using emerging technologies, communicating, working in teams, and other necessary skills. So, it’s fair to ask, “Do students really need a college degree”? Brandeis University President, and nationally respected higher education leader and researcher, Arthur Levine has been at the forefront of the changing role of higher education. Co-author of THE GREAT UPHEAVAL, HIGHER EDUCATIONS PAST PRESENT AND...
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Collaboration: The Heart of Innovation
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this conversation, Tricia Friedman speaks with authors Dylan Thuras and Jennifer Swanson about their ambitious book that explores the evolution of invention and technology. They discuss the importance of collaboration in science, the interdisciplinary nature of learning, and how curiosity drives innovation. The conversation also highlights the role of play in the invention process and how everyday objects can inspire new perspectives. Dylan Thuras is the cofounder and creative director of Atlas Obscura. He lives in Rosendale, NY Jennifer Swanson is an...
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I know what you did last summer: Jeff and Tricia edition
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
On this episode Jeff and Tricia catch up on all the learning they did last summer. Hear them talk about gardening...and of course generative AI Learn more about how to catch them this year:
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Where is the current taking K12?
Shifting Schools: Conversations for K12 Educators
In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff Utecht and Tricia Friedman discuss their upcoming training sessions focused on integrating AI into education. They emphasize the importance of understanding AI's impact on the job market, the necessity of prompt engineering as a new skill for educators, and the need for AI literacy among students. The conversation also touches on the evolving nature of AI tools and the importance of addressing mental health concerns related to technology use among students. You can learn more about the five part series: Takeaways AI is reshaping the educational...
info_outlineOften the cliche 'the library is the heart of the school' is heard in literacy circles...but what does it mean to listen to a library's heartbeat?
On the podcast this week we hear directly from award-winning librarian Karina Quilantán about the journey she's explored in telling the story of her library.
We also discuss the way librarians and educators can learn from one another through social media. If you are curious to learn more about what a 'future-ready' library is all about, Karina has stellar advice to share.
Learn more about this week's guest:
Karina Quilantán, also known as “Q.”, is an award-winning library media specialist, international presenter, and keynote speaker from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. She has been an educator for over a decade and has earned array of digital credentials including Apple, Google, and Microsoft for Education certifications. Karina’s love for educational technology has allowed her to expand her library programming beyond the classroom and she loves finding innovative ways to keep her students and staff engaged in the learning process. In addition to her love of librarianship and professional development, she maintains several social media channels and moderates a professional learning network called RGV Library Squad which earned her the Texas Library Association Media Virtual Presence Award. Karina currently serves on the Texas Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Committee, TxLA Social Media Committee, and is the Libraries Lead for MagiKids. She was also a TCEA Library Media Specialist Finalist in 2021 and was named the 2022 Texas Library Association Librarian of the Year. When she is not learning and empowering her community, she can be found playing video games, Magic the Gathering, or reading comics on her very comfy couch. You can connect with Karina Q. on any social media outlet by following her @cuethelibrarian or following her blog cuethelibrarian.com.
Be sure to also check out her amazing blogposts by clicking here.
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A huge thank you to this week's Sponsor: MackinVia
A few other reminders:
Save $50 at the upcoming NCCE conference here in the State of Washington March 21-23 by using the code shiftingschools50. It’s always a great conference and I’ll be there doing six sessions including two on ChatGPT and AI in education. We will also be recording a live Shifting Schoosl podcast with anyone who wants to join us in room 406 at 2:00 pm on March 23rd. Thank you to NCCE for sponsoring Shifting Schools and giving us a space to record an episode live. If you are going to the conference please make sure you stop by and say Hi and if you can join me at 2pm in room 406 and be a part of the podcast we’d love to have ya. Will be talking about trends during the conference, ah-ha moments, and just our takeaways. If you can’t make it to the conference make sure you follow using the #ncce23 on Twitter and be listening for that episode after the conference. Again that’s ncce.org and that offer code is shiftingschools50 of course it’s all in the show notes as well.
All podcast listeners can save $25 when they use the code SSPOD25 at checkout on any of our courses. Our 5-Day AI Challenge and Tricia’s steller The Intersection of AI and Equity are both for sale at the moment. With that discount code you get either one for $74. We send you an email with a link to the slide deck that includes everything you need to implement it in your school. A built in reflective journal, a facilitator's guide and videos walking you through the process. In fact I just took our 5 Day Challenge and used it in a PD training at a school district. So many great ways to use these resources. Don’t forget that’s $74 for a site license you are allowed and encouraged to give every teacher in your building their own copy. You don’t have to go to a website, there are no logins. We literally just give you the file to share within your school. It comes in both Google Slides and PPT format and of course, we’re here to support you every step of the way. So use that code SSPOD25 and start supporting the shift in your school around generative AI. That’s SSPOD25 at shiftingschools.com